Leonardo DiCaprio says agents urged name change to Lenny Williams; father blocked it and steered him toward stardom

Leonardo DiCaprio revealed on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce that early in his career Hollywood agents urged him to alter his name, telling him it was too ethnic and proposing the name Lenny Williams. The anecdote underscores the kinds of branding pressures young actors faced as they tried to break into film and television before they had established a public identity. DiCaprio said the push to rewrite his name came after he had secured his first agent, a step he described as a sign that breaking into the industry could hinge as much on branding as on acting ability.

DiCaprio recalled that the idea of a name change met with a blunt reaction from his family as well as the reality of the industry. The proposed moniker was Lenny Williams, and the advice he was given centered on the hope that it would be more marketable in Hollywood. He described the moment as jarring and foreign to him, insisting that his given name is Leonardo DiCaprio. The discussion on the podcast captured not only the specific name change suggestion but also the broader theme of early career pressures faced by aspiring actors who are just beginning to navigate auditions, agents, and the public gaze. His retelling also highlighted how his father’s influence would come to shape his resolve during those formative years.

DiCaprio said he was drawn to acting from a very young age, a passion he described as something he mimicked from people around him. He said he wanted to be an actor very, very young, recalling that he imitated his parents’ friends when he was four years old and felt a sense of possibility when he realized acting could be an actual job. The discussion turned to how the early experiences laid the groundwork for a career that would eventually reach a peak with an Oscar-winning performance, even as the headwinds of industry branding persisted at the margins of his ascent.

The actor framed the arc of his early life in terms of a pivotal moment he has described in other interviews: starring in This Boy’s Life opposite Robert De Niro when he was 16, a moment he called the big wow moment of his career. Working with De Niro at such a young age provided a rare exposure to professional acting and to the craft in a way that many peers don’t experience until later in life. It marked a turning point in his mindset about what could be possible for him as an actor and helped shape the discipline he would carry forward as he pursued increasingly complex roles.

DiCaprio’s rise continued through the years, culminating in an Academy Award win in 2016 for The Revenant. In recent remarks cited by People, he explained that he plans to slow down and be more selective about the roles he accepts, signaling a shift in how he approaches his career after decades in the industry. Yet he also emphasized that the opportunity to work with filmmakers he admires remains a priority, pointing to a continuing interest in collaborations that challenge him and contribute to lasting, conversation-generating work.

Among the projects he has cited, his dynamic collaboration with director Paul Thomas Anderson stands out as a meaningful destination. He said that while he may slow his pace overall, he did not want to pass up opportunities that excite him on a professional level. He voiced enthusiasm for Anderson’s latest comedy, One Battle After Another, explaining that his admiration for Anderson’s body of work—begun with Boogie Nights—has colored his view of what makes cinema enduring. He acknowledged that his decision to pass on Boogie Nights in the past remains a notable regret, a sentiment he has shared in previous conversations, including an August Esquire interview in which he described the film as a profound piece of cinema he wishes he had been a part of.

Ultimately, DiCaprio framed his career in terms of lasting art rather than transient accolades. He argued that while awards and box office are part of the industry’s landscape, the films that endure are those that spark ongoing discussion and reflection. His comments on the New Heights podcast, combined with his recent remarks about stepping back to be more selective, suggest a thoughtful recalibration of a career defined by both iconic performances and careful, deliberate choices about the kinds of stories he wants to tell. In this light, the collaboration with Anderson and the continued pursuit of challenging, artful projects appear to be guiding threads as he moves forward, even as he acknowledges the personal lessons learned from the earliest days of his professional journey.